Encapsulated blister package

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to an encapsulated blister package, which is especially a medicine package containing tablets ( 8 ) or pills. The package has the flat outer casing ( 1 ), most preferably made of cardboard, and the inner part ( 2 ) partly extractable from it, the inner part comprising the disc ( 7 ) formed as a blister package moutned rotatably onto the base ( 5 ). The base has an outlet opening or similar so that the tablet that has been brought to the opening by rotating the disc, can be pressed out of the disc and removed from the package through the opening.

The present invention relates to an encapsulated blister package, whichis used as consumer package for medicines especially in the form oftablets, pills and capsules.

A blister package typically comprises a cover part of viscous, flexible,transparent plastics, which is laminated to a base of brittle, film-typematerial, such as foil paper. The plastic cover has blister-likeprotrusions, forming cavities between the cover and the base, each ofthem containing one packed article, such as a tablet or similar. Theplastic material of the cover is sufficiently rigid so that the blisterswould maintain their shape in the normal state, but yield when pressingthe blister with a finger so that the tablet or other similar articlecan be pressed out of the package through the breaking base.

The present blister packages used as medicine packages are typicallyrectangular, comprising tablets, pills or similar arranged in verticaland horizontal lines. The consumer package consists of one or severalsuch blister packages packed, for example, into a casing of cardboard.

Extracting a tablet or similar from the medicine package described aboverequires that the casing be opened, the blister package be pulled out ofthe casing, the tablet be removed from the blister package, and finally,the blister package be fitted back into the casing.

The object of the invention is the achieve an encapsulated blisterpackage, from which a tablet or similar can be extracted more simply andeffortessly than at present. It is characteristic of the package of theinvention that it has a flat, outer casing open at least from one side,and at least partly extractable inner part, which comprises a discformed as a blister package fitted rotatably onto a base, which ispartly open below the disc so that the product to be released from thedisc by pressing the blister can be removed from the package.

The structural basis for the encapsulated package of the invention hasbeen a CD package disclosed in the patent specification U.S. Pat. No.6,032,795, which consists of an outer casing and a partly extractableinner part supporting the CD. Instead of a CD, the package of theinvention comprises a discoidal blister package, which contains tabletsor other similar articles individually packed into blister-likecavities. In distinction from the CD package of the said specification,the disc is not intended to be removed from the base, but it isessential that the disc rotates in relation to the base so that it ispossible to bring the tablet to be released at any given time into aposition, in which it can be released from the disc by pressing.

The disc containing the tablets or other similar articles can be formedas such in a conventional way from a blister sheet of flexible plasticand a base of bristle material, such as foil paper, which breaks whenthe tablet is removed by pressing.

The base belonging to the extractable part of the package can consist ofa sheet, which most suitably is closed, exclusive of an outlet openingformed into it, at which the tablet to be extracted from the package canbe placed by rotating the disc and through which the tablet pressed outfrom the disc can be removed from the package. If the tablets arearranged in the disc as a circular line or ring, the outlet opening canbe relatively small, covering only the area of the tablet to be releasedand the area immediately surrounding it. In this case, the tablets canbe brought to the outlet opening by rotating the disc, and they can bepressed out of the disc one at a time. However, it is also possible toplace the tablets to the disc in another way, for example, as severalconcentric arcs or rings, or possibly as a spiral surrounding the centreof the disc, in which case the area of the disc will be more efficientlyused in the package. In these cases the base can be provided with alongitudinal outlet opening in the direction of the disc radius, towhich each tablet can be brought for release irrespective of thelocation of the tablets on the disc.

With the exception of the defined outlet opening, the closed,unrotatable base onto which the disc is articulated, forms a solidstructure, from which it is easy to release the tablets or other similarpacked articles. Nevertheless, also other kinds of structures arepossible within the scope of the invention. It is essential that thebase, onto which the disc is supported, is open in such a way that itdoes not prevent the release of the tablet brought to this open areafrom the disc. According to one embodiment of the invention, theextractable base comprises an unrotatable frame, which supports twosuperimposed discs rotating in relation to the frame and to each other,the upper one forming the blister package containing the tablets orother similar articles, and the lower one being provided with an outletopening making it possible to press off the tablet. In this case,releasing the tablets requires the matching of the tablet and the outletopening by rotating the superimposed discs in relation to each other.

According to a further embodiment of the invention the tablets or othersimilar articles are arranged on the disc forming the blister package sothat a sector totally free of tablets remains in the disc. The idea hereis that, when manufacturing the packages, the said sector is placed atthe outlet opening in the otherwise closed base so that it is not enoughto extract the base and disc out from the casing to release the tablet,but the disc has to be additionally rotated in relation to the basebefore the tablet can leave the package. This, as also the said solutionconsisting of two superimposed discs, are suitable for medicinepackages, especially from the point of view of child safety.

The disc can be rotatably connected to the base by articulating the discto the base from its middle section. The base can comprise a joint pin,around which the disc rotates by pressing by a finger.

Alternatively, the extractable inner part can be provided with aretainer, which extends onto the disc from the side of the base andkeeps the disc in place on the base. Such a retainer can be made, forexample, as a ring-shaped rim encircling the circumference of the discso that the edge of the disc is left between the sheet-shaped base andthe rim. The said joint between the disc and the base will not be neededin this embodiment, but the disc can freely rest on the base and berotated by pressing by fingers.

The invention can also be advantageously applied so that a projection orsome other hindrance is placed to the disc and/or base, allowing thedisc to rotate to one direction only. One implementation is to providethe said rim surrounding the disc with a tongue extending towards thecentre of the disc, the tongue having at least one fin extending downtowards the disc and turning to only one direction, which the blister inthe disc can pass in the said turning direction, but not in the oppositedirection of rotation of the disc. This solution helps the consumer torelease the tablets or similar from the package in the order, in whichthey are located on the disc.

As the CD casing according to the said specification U.S. Pat. No.6,032,795, also the encapsulated package of the invention, the discexcluded, can be manufactured of package cardboard, which is aninexpensive recyclable material for disposable consumer packages to bedisposed of after the use.

The invention shall next be explained in more detail by means ofexamples, referring to the enclosed drawings, in which

FIG. 1 shows an encapsulated medicine package according to theinvention, the inner part extracted;

FIG. 2 shows the package of FIG. 1 with its extracted inner part seenfrom the bottom;

FIG. 3, which is a section III-III of FIG. 2, shows the edge folds, bymeans of which the detachment of the inner part of the package from thecasing is prevented;

FIG. 4, which is a partial section IV-IV of the inner part of thepackage of FIG. 2, shows a tablet included in the discoidal blisterpackaged, placed at the outlet opening in the base;

FIG. 5, which is otherwise similar to FIG. 2, illustrates the tablet,which is pressed out from the disc, exiting from the package through theoutlet opening;

FIG. 6 illustrates the way the tablet included in the disc, which as analternative embodiment of the invention deviates from the illustrationsin FIG. 4 and 5, rotates to the outlet opening in the base;

FIG. 7 illustrates the disc formed as a blister package as an embodimentof the invention, in which the packed tablets are arranged as a ring;

In the alternative embodiment of the invention according to FIG. 8, thetablets are arranged on the disc as a spiral;

In the embodiment of the invention according to FIG. 9, the tablets arearranged on the disc as two concentric arcs of a circle so that the disccomprises an empty sector without tablets;

FIG. 10, which corresponding to FIG. 2, shows the bottom side of thepackage, illustrates an embodiment of the invention, in which the basehas a longitudinal outlet opening in direction of the disc radius;

FIG. 11 is a top view of an encapsulated medicine package of theinvention, as an alternative to the one shown in FIG. 1, the inner partextracted;

FIG. 12 is a section XII-XII of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a section XIII-XIII of FIG. 11; and

FIG. 14 is a section XIV-XIV of FIG. 11.

The encapsulated medicine package of the invention illustrated in FIGS.1 and 2 consists of the flat, rectangular outer casing 1 and theextractable inner part 2. The outer casing 1, which has beenmanufactured of package cardboard by folding and seaming, has threeclosed lateral edges 3 and an open fourth edge 4, from which the innerpart 2 can be extracted. Corresponding to the casing 1, the inner part 2comprises the mainly rectangular base 5 and the disc 7 supported by thebase, rotating around the joint pin 6 in the base, the disc forming theblister package containing the packed articles, which in the exemplarycase in the Figures are the medicine tablets 8. FIG. 2 illustrating thebottom section of the package shows the outlet opening 9 formed into theotherwise closed base 5, making it possible to remove from the packagethe tablet 8 released from the disc 7.

From one side, the sheet-shaped base 5 has been folded so that, in aclosed package, in which the inner part 2 is pressed into the casing 1,the fold 10 forms the lateral edge closing the open edge 4 of thecasing. From the sectional view 3 it can be seen that the opposite edgeof the base 5 is provided with the similar fold 11, which in cooperationwith the inner fold 12 on the open edge 4 of the casing 1 prevents theinner part 2 from loosening from the casing in connection with theextraction. This ensures that the package stays in one piece when used,which is the central precondition for its effortless use. The base 5 canbe manufactured of a sheet of package cardboard by folding the sides 10,11 and by die cutting the outlet opening 9 for the tablets.

The structure and operation of the discoidal blister package 7 in therelease of the tablets 8 are illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. The disc 7consists of the blister sheet 13 of a plastic material, to which a thinbase film 14 has been laminated. The blister sheet 13 has projections(blisters) 15 so that the blisters form cavities 16 between the sheet 13and the base 14, each cavity containing one packed tablet 8. The blistersheet 13 is made of a relative rigid plastic material, which keeps itshape in the normal state, but which, nevertheless, bends when theblister 15 is pressed by a finger so that the force is directed to thetablet 8 and through it to the base film 14 below. The base film 14 is,for example, made of a brittle foil paper, which breaks when pressed,thus allowing the tablet 8 to release and exit from the package throughthe outlet opening 9 under the base in accordance with FIG. 5.

The structure of the discoidal blister package 7 in FIG. 6 deviates fromthe one shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 in that the cardboard sheet 17 stiffeningthe disc 7 has been laminated under the breaking foil 14 of foil paperor a similar material. The sheet 17 has openings 18 corresponding to theoutlet opening 9 in the base 5, each at the tablet 8 and the blister 15.FIG. 6 illustrates the rotation of the disc 7, in which the blister 15with the tablet 8 is about to arrive at the outlet opening 9 in thebase.

In FIGS. 2, 4, 5 and 6, the outlet opening 9 formed to the base 5 isrelatively small, covering only the blister 15 containing the tablet 8and the immediately surrounding area in the disc 7. Such an outletopening 9 is sufficient for a discoidal blister package, in which theblisters 15 with tablets 8 are arranged as a ring encircling the disc 7in accordance with FIG. 1 or FIG. 7. By rotating the disc 7, the tablets8 can be brought to the outlet opening 9 in the base 5 and removed fromthe package through the opening one at a time. The base 5 can, forexample, have a cogging or some other suitable mechanism (not shown)connected to the joint pin 6, allowing the disc 7 to only rotate in onedirection on the base. This guides the consumer to use the tablets 8 inthe order, in which they are located on the disc 7.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show two alternative configurations, in which the blisters15 with tablets 8 can be located on the disc 7. In FIG. 8, the tablets 8are arranged as a spiral encircling the joint pin 6, which forms thecentre of the disc. In FIG. 9, the tablets 8 again form two concentric,nested arcs of a circle. In this case, the disc 7 comprises the emptysector 19 free from tablets 8, indicated by broken lines in the Figure.In a full, unopened package, such a disc 7 is placed so that the saidsector 17 is located at the oulet opening 9 of the base 5, in which casereleasing the first tablet 8 from the package requires that, in additionto the extraction of the inner part 2, also the disc 7 has to be rotatedin relation to the base 5. For the discs 7 according to FIGS. 8 and 9,the outlet opening 9 of the base 5 has been designed longitudinal,extending in the direction of the disc radius so that each of thetablets 8 arranged to the spiral or concentric rings or arcs can bebrought to the opening 9 for release from the package.

In the embodiment of the invention of FIGS. 11-14, the extractable innerpart 2 of the medicine package comprises, in addition to thesheet-shaped base 5 and the disc 7 supported by it, a projection bendinginwards from the side 10 of the base towards the disc 7, forming theuniform annular rim 20 encircling the circumference of the disc. The rim20 is dimensioned so that the edge 21 of the disc 7 stays completelyunder the rim, in a space between it and the base 5, at the same time asthe rim leaves the blisters 15 with the tablets 8 in sight, with theexception of one. The rim binds the disc onto the base 5 so that thejoint pin 6 described above for keeping the disc in place isunnecessary. The disc 7 can be rotated on the base 5 with fingers in thedirection of the arrow 22 in FIG. 11. Such an arrow can be located onthe disc 7 to guide the user of the package. The edge of the rim 20 canbe provided with the fold 23, which can either be continuous or consistof separate tongue-shaped projections, and which extends towards thedisc 7 for restricting the freedom of movement of the disc in thevertical direction. Let it be stated that, with the exception of thejoint pin fastening, the disc 7 and the base 5 can structurally andoperationally correspond to what has been disclosed above in connectionof FIGS. 4 and 5.

According to FIG. 11, the rim 20 covering the edge 21 of the disc 7 isadditionally provided with the tongue 24, which is radially directedtowards the centre of the disc. Upon rotating the disc 7, the blisters15 arranged onto it as a ring travel one at a time below the tongue 24.In the direction of travel of the blisters 15, the fin 25 is arranged onboth sides of the tongue 24 in accordance with FIG. 14, the finextending bevelled against the surface of the disc 7. The fins 25 act asgates opening to one direction, by allowing the blister 15 to pass byturning into the position shown by broken lines in the Figure, butforming a hindrance for the blister if one tries to turn the disc 7 tothe opposite direction. The tongue 24 with its fins 25 thus allows thedisc 7 to only rotate to the direction indicated by the arrow 22 on thedisc, which helps to guide the blisters with their tablets 8 to theoutlet point 9 in the order, in which they are located on the disc. Thesolution is especially suitable for packages, the course of medicaltreatment contained in which consists of tablets different from eachother, which the patient has to take in a certain, predetermined order.

It is obvious for those skilled in the art that the embodiments of theinvention are not limited to those disclosed as examples above, but theymay vary within the scope of the following patent claims. For example,it is possible to restrict the output of the inner part 2 from thecasing 1 so that the disc 7 will come into view only in part. A disc,which has been extracted out from the casing approximately halfway, isstill easily rotatable with fingers, while keeping the package morecompact and thus easier to handle.

1. Encapsulated blister package, characterised in that it has a flatouter casing (1) open at least from one side, and an at least partlyextractable inner part (2), comprising a disc (7) formed as a blisterpackage fitted rotatably onto a base (5), which is partly open below thedisc so that when pressing a blister (15), a product (8) released fromthe disc can exit the package.
 2. Package according to claim 1,characterised in that the casing (1) and/or the inner part (2) isprovided with a retainer (11, 12), preventing the inner part frombecoming loose from the casing.
 3. Package according to claim 1 or 2,characterised in that the disc (7) consists of a blister sheet (13) offlexible plastics, and a bottom (14) made of flexible material, such asfoil paper, which breaks when the product (8) is released by pressing.4. Package according to one of the preceding claims, characterised inthat the base (5) is provided with the outlet opening (9) so that theproduct (8) at the opening can be pressed out of the disc (7) andremoved from a package through the opening.
 5. Package according to oneof the preceding claims, characterised in that the disc (7) containsindividual products (8) arranged to form an arc of a circle or a ring sothat they can be brought to the outlet opening (9) or like in the base(5) one at a time by rotating the disc.
 6. Package according to claim 5,characterised in that the products (8) are arranged as severalconcentric arcs or rings in the disc (7).
 7. Package according to one ofthe claims 1-4, characterised in that the products (8) are arranged as aspiral in the disc (7).
 8. Package according to one of the precedingclaims, characterised in that the base (5) is provided with alongitudinal outlet opening (9), extending in the direction of theradius of the disc (7).
 9. Package according to one of the precedingclaims, characterised in that the disc (7) and/or the base (5) containsa hindrance, which allows the disc to rotate to one direction only. 10.Package according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in thatthe disc (7) comprises a sector (19), which is free of the packedproducts (8), and that in an unopened package, said sector is located atthe outlet opening (9) in the base (5).
 11. Package according to one ofthe preceding claims, characterised in that the disc (7) is articulatedonto the base (5) from its middle section (6).
 12. Package according toone of the claims 1-10, characterised in that the extractable inner part(2) comprises a base (5) and a projection (20) extending from its side(10) above the disc (7) for keeping the disc in place on the base. 13.Package according to claim 12, characterised in that the disc (7) restsfreely on the base (5) so that it can be rotated by fingers.
 14. Packageaccording to claim 12 or 13, characterised in that the projection isformed as an annular rim (20) encircling the circumference of the disc(7).
 15. Package according to claim 13, characterised in that the rim(20) has a tongue (24), extending towards the centre of the disc (7), atwhich a blister (15) in the disc (7) is left under the rim.
 16. Packageaccording to claims 9 and 15, characterised in that the rim (20) hasbeside the tongue (24) at least one fin (25) directed down towards thedisc (7), turning to one direction only so that, in cooperation with ablister (15), it allows the disc to rotate to one direction only. 17.Package according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in thatthe outer casing (1) and the base (5) of the inner part are made ofpackaging board.
 18. Package according to one of the preceding claims,characterised in that the package is a medicine package containingtablets (8), capsules or pills.